Court Dismisses Wal-Mart Disability Case

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Court Dismisses Wal-Mart Disability Case

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/01/14/ap4529421.html

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a case brought by a Wal-Mart

Stores Inc. employee who alleged the company had discriminated

against her after she was disabled in an on-the-job accident.

The court said the case was dismissed under Rule 46.1, which

provides for dismissals when both parties agree to settle a dispute.

The justices had said they would consider the case Dec. 7, and oral

arguments were expected to take place this spring. The Supreme Court

did not provide additional details.

" The Huber case has been resolved to the satisfaction of all

parties, " Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ) spokeswoman Sharon

Weber said.

Details of the settlement are confidential, she added.

At issue in the case was how far employers under the Americans with

Disabilities Act must go to accommodate disabled employees.

Pam Huber, who still works at Wal-Mart, was injured in April 2001

while employed as an order filler in a Wal-Mart distribution center

in sville, Ark. She applied for a different position at

equivalent pay, but didn't get the job.

Wal-Mart said in court papers that it hired a more qualified

employee. Huber was later given a job at about half the hourly wage

she earned as an order filler.

Huber sued in June 2004, arguing that under ADA rules, she only had

to be qualified for the equivalent position, not the most qualified,

and should have been reassigned to the job with equivalent pay.

A federal court in Arkansas sided with Huber, but the 8th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals, based in St. Louis, reversed and ruled in

favor of Wal-Mart.

The ADA " only requires Wal-Mart to allow Huber to compete for the

job, but the statute does not require Wal-Mart to turn away a

superior applicant, " the appeals court said.